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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.

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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: club · band · cell · wind · saw · cap · vault · game

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. club — a group
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cell — a phone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. game — a match
  13. band — a music group
  14. cap — a lid
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cell — in biology
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a ring
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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