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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: vault · band · tube · mouse · mine · rush · clip · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a song
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tube — a container
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — for digging
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. band — a ring

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