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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bass · chair · mine · ground · fine · vault · wound · cap

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. ground — a position
  4. bass — low music
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fine — all right
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bass — the fish
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mine — for digging

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