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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 116 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 · land · coach · tear · bat · pit · row · chair

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. chair — a leader
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — to come down
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. row — a line
  13. vault — a safe
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — ground

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