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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: press · game · cue · wound · vault · craft · capital · dip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cue — a signal
  3. press — a publisher
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. press — to push
  6. vault — a safe
  7. dip — to sink
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. craft — a skill
  10. game — a match
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — a hint
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cue — for pool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — newspapers
  20. craft — boats
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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