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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: current · bulb · cold · branch · capital · band · vault · ground

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a city
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cold — not warm
  6. current — electric
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. current — of water
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. band — a ring
  14. bulb — for light
  15. current — happening now
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — a position
  19. branch — a division
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. capital — money
  24. vault — a safe

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