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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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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: vault · suit · bound · cold · bank · capital · pitcher · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. suit — in cards
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — the amount
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bound — certain
  15. capital — money
  16. bank — for money
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bank — for money
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. suit — clothes
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bound — tied together

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