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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. last — final
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a tool
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. season — in sport
  10. mate — a friend
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. kid — to tease
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — of the year
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. last — finally
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. kid — child
  24. mate — a partner

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