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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: content · pound · vault · kid · band · bulb · perch · plane

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. band — a music group
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. vault — a safe
  8. content — the amount
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. perch — the fish
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a ring
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — to tease
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bulb — for light
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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