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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 116 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: clip · object · capital · field · spring · tube · club · vault

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. capital — money
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. field — a subject
  7. capital — a city
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. club — a group
  12. vault — a safe
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — the season
  18. object — an aim
  19. tube — a container
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — the underground
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. club — for golf

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