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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 120 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: cell · chair · chest · hand · bowl · vault · arm · game

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chest — a box
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. game — a match

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