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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: jam · coach · fall · face · vault · chair · chest · game

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — to confront
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. game — a match
  9. fall — to drop
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. vault — a safe
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — a box
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — the season
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. chest — of your body

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