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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: rule · vault · chair · chest · pop · straw · lie · mine

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  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. lie — to recline
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. chair — a leader
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pop — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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