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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · capital · rock · tube · wound · leaves · band · vault

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rock — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tube — the underground
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rock — a stone
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — a city
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. vault — a safe
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. tube — a container

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