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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 120 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: swing · tube · shower · degree · pass · face · vault · band

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. tube — a container
  4. shower — to wash
  5. swing — music
  6. face — to confront
  7. pass — a permit
  8. tube — the underground
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — to play on
  11. face — part of the head
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. swing — in golf
  15. degree — from a university
  16. vault — a safe
  17. band — a ring
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. shower — rain
  22. degree — an amount
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. band — a rubber band

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