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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: band · fork · tube · snap · bat · vault · file · present

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to click
  4. bat — the animal
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. vault — a safe
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. tube — the underground
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a tool
  23. tube — a container
  24. band — a rubber band

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