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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — music
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pop — soda
  7. march — music
  8. band — a music group
  9. vault — a safe
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chest — a box
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bound — tied together
  23. file — a document
  24. march — the month

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