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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: mate · march · chip · vault · toast · band · bat · wind

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. band — a ring
  8. mate — to breed
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — to eat
  15. vault — a safe
  16. band — a music group
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. march — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — a friend
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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