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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · vault · band · cue · lean · cell

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cue — a hint

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