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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. band — a music group
  3. bound — certain
  4. bank — for money
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. band — a ring
  11. bank — for money
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bound — obliged
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — not warm
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. degree — from a university
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — an amount

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