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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: mouse · mine · rush · vault · row · chest · fork · chair

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a line
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. row — to paddle

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