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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 124 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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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: track · capital · vault · pound · mate · wind · bulb · hand

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bulb — for light
  4. track — a song
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mate — a partner
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. track — a path
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mate — a friend
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. track — to keep track
  21. hand — help
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — money

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