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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: kid · march · saw · vault · season · mine · band · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. march — music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. saw — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. mine — for digging
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — child
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. vault — a safe
  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