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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: rush · club · coach · hand · vault · capital · game · band

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. game — a match
  8. hand — in cards
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. vault — a safe
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rush — hurry
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. club — for dancing
  17. game — wild animals
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. capital — money
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. capital — a city
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hand — help
  24. club — a group

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