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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — for dancing
  3. last — final
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bound — certain
  10. kick — in football
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. last — to go on
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. band — a music group
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. last — finally
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bound — tied together

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