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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: bat · race · press · vault · capital · bark · dip · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chest — a box
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — money
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to sink
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. press — newspapers
  18. race — the arms race
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. press — to push
  21. bark — to shout
  22. race — humankind
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. capital — a city

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