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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. game — a match
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. snap — to click
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — a practice
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a city
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. drill — army training
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a ring

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