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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. band — a music group
  4. season — of the year
  5. rock — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. toast — bread
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — to tease
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. kid — child
  24. rock — a stone

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