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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · vault · date · perch · band · capital · rash · ground

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. vault — a safe
  3. perch — the fish
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — the underground
  6. capital — a city
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — a position
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. rash — a series
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. date — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. ground — crushed
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — hasty
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. band — a ring
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. ground — the earth

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