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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. band — a music group
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. kid — child
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. capital — a city
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. capital — money
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. land — ground
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. coach — a trainer

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