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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: object · wound · wind · chair · bat · rock · vault · rule

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — a thing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — a stone
  8. object — an aim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wound — an injury
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. object — to protest
  23. rule — a law
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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