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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
468
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: band · capital · safe · fan · cold · vault · can · bore

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cold — not warm
  3. capital — a city
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. can — to be able to
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. can — a tin
  12. bore — to tire
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. band — a ring
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. can — a tin

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