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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — to crush
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. vault — a safe
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — an illness
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. file — a tool
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a document
  24. ball — a great time

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