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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — the animal
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rule — government
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rule — a law
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. vault — a safe
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. swing — music
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a music group
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in biology
  24. swing — in 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