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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: kid · rule · staff · last · chip · cap · vault · clip

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cap — of ice
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — employees
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rule — government
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chip — for betting
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — a safe
  21. kid — to tease
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chip — to eat

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