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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: vault · file · band · land · racket · arm · rule · wax

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. band — a ring
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a music group
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. land — ground
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. file — a document
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rule — to rule out

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