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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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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: clip · last · racket · cell · rest · band · vault · present

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — there
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — finally
  9. rest — what's left
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — a gift
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — final
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cell — a phone
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rest — a break

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