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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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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: chair · wake · vault · scale · nail · cold · staff · chest

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chest — a box
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. chest — of your body
  9. staff — a stick
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. staff — employees
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — size or range
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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