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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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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: tear · band · current · bat · vault · ground · wind · cell

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cell — a phone
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — in biology
  16. vault — a safe
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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