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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: vault · land · sharp · jam · charge · band · chest · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. band — a music group
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. land — a country
  5. chest — of your body
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. charge — a price
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a ring
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — a box
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. charge — in control
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chest — of your body
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. vault — a safe
  23. charge — electricity
  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