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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. net — after costs
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. club — a group
  8. squash — to crush
  9. net — for catching
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — a safe
  12. clip — to cut
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — for dancing
  16. band — a ring
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. band — a music group
  24. club — for golf

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