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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: bark · race · tube · swing · bay · band · march · vault

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. band — a music group
  5. tube — a container
  6. march — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tube — the underground
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. swing — music
  14. race — a contest
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a ring
  18. march — the month
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. vault — a safe
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — to shout

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