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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. vault — a safe
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. swing — to play on
  8. hand — in cards
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. race — a contest
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — humankind
  13. swing — music
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wake — a trail
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. swing — in golf
  23. deal — to handle
  24. band — a music group

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