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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: fall · hand · dip · chair · staff · cell · vault · chest

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. dip — to sink
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — to drop
  6. staff — employees
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — a box
  15. hand — in cards
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — help
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fall — the season
  24. chair — a leader

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