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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: chair · vault · bat · rush · last · arm · kid · tube

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. vault — a safe
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — finally
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — a container
  23. last — final
  24. arm — part of the 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