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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. vault — a safe
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rule — government
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. present — there
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bore — to tire
  23. rule — a law
  24. present — a gift

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