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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: march · pitcher · fan · saw · capital · clip · vault · stem

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. march — the month
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — music
  8. capital — a city
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitcher — a jug

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