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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: swing · vault · last · clip · band · rush · cabinet · game

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. swing — to play on
  3. game — a match
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — final
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rush — hurry
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. last — to go on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — a video
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. swing — music
  24. band — a ring

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