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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: chair · race · vault · coach · cue · cold

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. race — humankind
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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