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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 · roll · deal · cold · tube · ground · club · chip

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. roll — a list
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. club — a group
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. ground — a position
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. deal — to handle
  16. club — for golf
  17. roll — a cake
  18. club — for dancing
  19. vault — a safe
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — a container
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — not warm

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