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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. firm — steady
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — a company
  10. clip — to cut
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bulb — for light
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. band — a music group
  17. clip — for paper
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spring — the season
  20. foot — a measure
  21. clip — a video
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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