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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: current · rest · vault · bound · cold · roll · tube · pop

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rest — a break
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tube — a container
  7. bound — obliged
  8. current — electric
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bound — tied together
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pop — soda
  15. roll — a list
  16. bound — certain
  17. pop — to visit
  18. current — of water
  19. roll — a cake
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. current — happening now

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