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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: vault · last · mate · chip · fall · cold

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — for betting
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fall — the season
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. last — finally
  12. mate — to breed
  13. last — final
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. vault — a safe
  18. fall — to drop

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