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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: dip · key · chair · band · straw · stick · vault · face

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. face — to confront
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. key — for a lock
  9. face — to point toward
  10. key — the most important part
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a leader
  14. vault — a safe
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. key — in music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. dip — to dunk

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