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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 120 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: net · cell · cue · bay · tear · stand · vault · band

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — a safe
  12. net — for catching
  13. cue — for pool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — after costs
  16. cue — a hint
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. cell — in biology

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