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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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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: bear · vault · pitch · capital · pitcher · cabinet · club · degree

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — a group
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — an amount
  16. club — for dancing
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. capital — money
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. club — for golf
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pitch — a sports field

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