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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: mate · pop · vault · arm · band · spring · nail · game

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mate — a partner
  4. game — a match
  5. pop — to visit
  6. band — a ring
  7. pop — soda
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pop — music
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. band — a music group
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — wild animals

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