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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: vault · wound · row · rule · ball · roll · band · rash

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. band — a music group
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. roll — a cake
  10. row — to paddle
  11. band — a ring
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. row — a line
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. vault — a safe
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. roll — a list
  20. ball — a dance
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a round shape

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