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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: vault · wind · pound · row · cap · saw · band · rule

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. band — a ring
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a music group
  6. cap — of ice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cap — a lid
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — a line
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rule — a law
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — moving air
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rule — government

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