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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: fall · band · rest · hand · rock · vault · chip · bat

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rest — what's left
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. rest — what's left
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a music group
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. fall — the season
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — music
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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