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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · chest · cabinet · mate · vault · capital · squash · wake

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chest — a box
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. vault — a safe
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — farmland
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — money
  16. field — for sport
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. field — a subject
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com