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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.

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: mate · drill · net · vault · track · march · capital · trunk

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — after costs
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mate — a partner
  5. capital — money
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. drill — the tool
  9. track — a path
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mate — to breed
  12. drill — a practice
  13. vault — a safe
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. mate — a friend
  21. drill — army training
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — a big letter

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