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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: chair · present · pitcher · drill · vault · dip · race · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — to sink
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. race — humankind
  13. drill — army training
  14. present — a gift
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a leader
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. race — a contest

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