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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: band · chair · dip · vault · key · race

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. band — a music group
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. key — the most important part
  9. race — humankind
  10. dip — to sink
  11. key — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. race — a contest
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — for a lock

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