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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: season · vault · last · wound · tube · pop · ground · temple

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. vault — a safe
  4. season — in sport
  5. tube — a container
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — to go on
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pop — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ground — the earth
  14. season — of the year
  15. pop — soda
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. ground — a position
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. last — finally
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — final
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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