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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kick — in football
  5. band — a music group
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spring — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. vault — a safe
  12. spring — of water
  13. pop — to visit
  14. band — a ring
  15. spring — a coil
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pop — music
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pop — soda
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. plane — a tool

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