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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. firm — steady
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. firm — decided
  7. pop — music
  8. firm — a company
  9. band — a ring
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bank — for money
  12. pop — soda
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. bank — for money
  17. vault — a safe
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. field — farmland
  21. band — a music group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bank — of a river

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