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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 120 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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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: vault · band · prune · file · chair · bulb · pop · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. band — a music group
  3. chair — a leader
  4. prune — to trim
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rule — a law
  9. pop — soda
  10. file — a tool
  11. band — a ring
  12. pop — to visit
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. vault — a safe
  17. file — a document
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pop — music
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. rule — government
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bulb — of a plant

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