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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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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: tube · vault · band · trunk · wound · wind · rest · date

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. rest — a break
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. tube — a container
  23. rest — what's left
  24. trunk — of a tree

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