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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: bulb · kick · last · fork · band · cold · vault · cap

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kick — in football
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. last — final
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cap — of ice

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