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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: vault · chair · arm · last · plane · band · fine · file

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fine — high quality
  5. last — to go on
  6. fine — all right
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. plane — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chair — a leader
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. band — a music group
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. arm — part of the body

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