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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. snap — to click
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. court — of law
  11. band — a ring
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. court — of a king
  14. drill — army training
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. court — for sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. game — a match
  24. vault — a safe

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