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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: cold · face · sharp · rest · vault · land · chip · fall

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. chip — for betting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — to come down
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. fall — the season
  6. rest — what's left
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rest — a break
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. land — ground
  17. face — part of the head
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — a country
  21. face — to confront
  22. chip — to eat
  23. face — to point toward
  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