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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 · pop · rush · hand · capital · chair · bass · lean

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — the fish
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. capital — a city
  9. pop — soda
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — help
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bass — low music
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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