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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. spring — a coil
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. vault — a safe
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. spring — of water
  17. tube — the underground
  18. prune — to trim
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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