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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. vault — a safe
  3. band — a ring
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. date — the fruit
  9. root — of a plant
  10. band — a music group
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — of a word
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ball — a dance
  17. root — the cause
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. staff — employees
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ground — the earth

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