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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. band — a ring
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. net — for catching
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. club — a group
  15. pit — a hole
  16. roll — a list
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. club — for golf
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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