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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: arm · chip · chair · wind · club · lean · cold · vault

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chip — to eat
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — a leader
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — for golf
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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