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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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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 · hand · wind · mine · band · wave · straw · wake

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. band — a ring
  4. hand — help
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. vault — a safe
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wake — before a funeral

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