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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — a short time
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. object — to protest
  6. capital — a city
  7. spell — letters
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. band — a music group
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. spell — magic
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. vault — a safe
  21. capital — money
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. capital — a big letter

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