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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: vault · cue · stem · march · wound · pop · chair · file

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. march — the month
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. file — a document
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wound — an injury

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