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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 120 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 · tube · bear · shower · band · kick · bark · current

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. current — of water
  4. bark — to shout
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bear — the animal
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. band — a music group
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kick — in football
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — happening now
  22. shower — rain
  23. bear — the animal
  24. tube — in a tire

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