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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: band · track · spring · bat · pop · object · vault · row

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pop — to visit
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a music group
  7. pop — music
  8. track — a song
  9. object — to protest
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. track — to keep track
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — of water
  15. track — a path
  16. object — an aim
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — a line
  19. bat — the animal
  20. vault — a safe
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spring — a coil
  24. object — a thing

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