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

Word bank: vault · fan · rule · chest · kid · present

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. present — a gift
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. present — the time now
  7. rule — a law
  8. vault — a safe
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — child
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chest — a box
  16. present — there
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. fan — a supporter

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