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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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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: arm · chair · face · cell · mine · coach · vault · kid

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. vault — a safe
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — child
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. face — part of the head
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chair — a leader
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chair — a professorship

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