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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · vault · spring · rock · can · straw · bark · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. can — a tin
  6. band — a music group
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — the season
  10. can — a tin
  11. band — a ring
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bark — to shout
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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