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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. rest — what's left
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — a subject
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. field — for sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. field — farmland
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bulb — for light
  14. race — humankind
  15. mug — a cup
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. rest — what's left
  18. vault — a safe
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rest — a break
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mug — a face
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bulb — for light

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