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

Word bank: vault · band · coach · rule · straw · wind · content · shower

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. content — happy
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. shower — to wash
  17. vault — a safe
  18. content — the amount
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. rule — government
  23. shower — rain
  24. band — a music group

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