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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: game · last · bulb · vault · tear · cold · chair · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chair — a leader
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. swing — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — to go on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bulb — for light
  17. last — finally
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — final
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — a safe

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