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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 120 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: cold · vault · fall · pitch · bound · bass · chest · staff

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bass — low music
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. vault — a safe
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. staff — employees
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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