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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — a box
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bound — tied together
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — the season
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — certain
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bound — obliged

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