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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.

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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. band — a music group
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. plane — a tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. band — a ring
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. file — a line of people
  19. vault — a safe
  20. ground — a position
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — money
  24. ground — the earth

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