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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 116 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 · object · cold · content · bank · bowl · vault · tube

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — the underground
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — the amount
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bank — of a river
  13. object — an aim
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. vault — a safe
  16. chair — a leader
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tube — a container
  21. object — a thing
  22. bank — for money
  23. object — to protest
  24. bowl — to roll

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