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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: straw · track · rash · game · mark · vault · band · cold

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. track — a song
  9. band — a music group
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. game — wild animals
  16. band — a ring
  17. track — a path
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rash — a series
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rash — hasty
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. track — to keep track

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