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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.

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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 · coach · ground · capital · trunk · pitcher · board · spring

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. board — a committee
  3. capital — a city
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — to get on
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. ground — the earth
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — the season
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. ground — a position
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spring — a coil

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