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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: file · nail · vault · court · cap · deal · hand · band

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. court — for sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. cap — a lid
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. file — a document
  10. vault — a safe
  11. band — a ring
  12. court — of a king
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cap — a hat
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — of ice
  22. deal — to handle
  23. court — of law
  24. deal — an agreement

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