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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: wind · last · lie · kid · row · chip · vault · track

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — to go on
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — a song
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chip — for betting
  13. track — a path
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chip — to eat
  21. track — to keep track
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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