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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. spring — the season
  3. band — a ring
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. vault — a safe
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spring — of water
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — the amount
  13. band — a music group
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. content — happy
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — the animal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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