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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. staff — employees
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — farmland
  6. last — to go on
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — final
  9. pop — music
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — finally
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. field — a subject
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pop — to visit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pop — soda
  20. row — a line
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. field — for sport

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