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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: fork · vault · bass · coach · band · wind · rock · mate

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — music
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a music group
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. vault — a safe
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wind — moving air
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bass — the fish
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. band — a ring
  24. bass — low music

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