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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: band · tube · wound · vault · object · snap · bass · court

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. court — of law
  4. object — a thing
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tube — the underground
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. object — to protest
  9. vault — a safe
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. object — an aim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. court — of a king
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. snap — to click
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. band — a music group

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