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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. face — to point toward
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pop — soda
  15. vault — a safe
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pop — music
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. field — a subject
  21. face — to confront
  22. deal — to handle
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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