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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. band — a music group
  3. object — a thing
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bass — low music
  6. band — a ring
  7. object — to protest
  8. land — to come down
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — farmland
  12. vault — a safe
  13. cap — a hat
  14. object — an aim
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. land — ground
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — the fish
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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