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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: lean · band · chest · degree · racket · face · tube · vault

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chest — a box
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — an amount
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. tube — a container
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lean — thin
  14. tube — the underground
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. lean — to bend
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — part of the head
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chest — of your body

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