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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. game — a match
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. race — a contest
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — the fish
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — humankind
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — the underground
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a ring
  21. plane — a tool
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bass — low music
  24. game — wild animals

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