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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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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: band · current · vault · file · game · chip · cold · squash

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. game — a match
  4. current — happening now
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — to crush
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chip — to eat
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. vault — a safe
  16. current — electric
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — wild animals
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. current — of water

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