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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: bay · chair · stock · cell · chest · vault · race · mine

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. race — the arms race
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. race — a contest
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stock — shares
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. race — humankind
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your 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