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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. vault — a safe
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. band — a music group
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. band — a ring
  24. mine — for digging

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