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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. race — a contest
  4. bass — low music
  5. vault — a safe
  6. band — a ring
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bass — the fish
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kick — in football
  24. coach — a trainer

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