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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. kid — child
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. kid — to tease
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — an illness
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitch — completely
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. plane — a tool

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