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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kid — child
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. race — humankind
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. file — a document
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — the animal
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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