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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: spring · court · vault · bark · dip · rush · capital · chair

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. court — for sport
  5. spring — a coil
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — of a king
  10. vault — a safe
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bark — to shout
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — of water
  17. court — of law
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — money
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. chair — a professorship

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