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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — for catching
  4. march — the month
  5. game — wild animals
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. vault — a safe
  20. game — a match
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. march — music
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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