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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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Word bank
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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 · squash · chair · date · charge · face · band · chip

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chip — for betting
  4. band — a music group
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. vault — a safe
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. charge — a price
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. face — part of the head
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. date — the fruit
  23. band — a ring
  24. chair — to sit on

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