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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: wound · rash · vault · firm · band · clip · spring · mine

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — a video
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wound — an injury
  14. firm — decided
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. vault — a safe
  18. band — a ring
  19. rash — hasty
  20. firm — steady
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wound — an injury
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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