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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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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: patient · swing · band · chest · bulb · vault · clip · mark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. vault — a safe
  10. clip — a video
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bulb — for light
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. mark — a trace
  24. swing — to play on

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