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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: vault · rule · band · prune · bulb · bat · capital · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — decided
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. vault — a safe
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. firm — a company
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — a city
  23. rule — a law
  24. prune — to trim

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