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

Word bank: sharp · cold · rule · rest · vault · chair

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rule — a law
  4. rest — what's left
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cold — an illness
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rest — what's left
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. vault — a safe
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rest — a break
  17. rule — government
  18. cold — the Cold War

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