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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: wave · vault · temple · band · stock · rash · rule · pitcher

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. stock — goods
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stock — shares
  24. rule — government

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