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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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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. track — a path
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. board — to get on
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. track — to keep track
  19. vault — a safe
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chest — a box

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