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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: rest · cold · chip · vault · straw · kick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chip — to eat
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chip — for betting
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cold — an illness
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kick — in football
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — a break
  18. kick — with a leg

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