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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. court — for sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. tube — the underground
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — of law
  10. band — a ring
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bark — to shout
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tube — a container
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — a video

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