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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: rock · band · pound · fan · wind · content · vault · file

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. content — the amount
  11. rock — a stone
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a document
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pound — a weight
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. content — happy
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. vault — a safe

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