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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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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: mine · vault · band · bay · lie · tube · wound · spring

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. band — a music group
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. vault — a safe
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — of water
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — for digging
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. lie — to recline
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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