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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: vault · file · band · chair · wind · root · dip · perch

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. band — a ring
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a document
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a tool
  8. vault — a safe
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. root — of a word
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. root — the cause
  20. dip — to sink
  21. root — of a plant
  22. file — a line of people
  23. band — a music group
  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