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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.

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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: club · lash · cold · bowl · bore · vault · band · prune

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. band — a ring
  5. bore — to drill
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. club — for golf
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bowl — a dish

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