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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: cap · capital · row · field · wind · hide · vault · rule

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. field — farmland
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rule — government
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. wind — moving air
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — to paddle
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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