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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 116 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: capital · ball · cold · pop · mouse · last · chip · vault

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — money
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — soda
  6. vault — a safe
  7. last — finally
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ball — a great time
  11. chip — to eat
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — a city
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pop — music
  24. mouse — for a computer

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