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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 · chip · fall · race · cold · bore · charge · prune

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. charge — electricity
  3. vault — a safe
  4. charge — in control
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — for betting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. charge — a price
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fall — the season
  19. race — humankind
  20. bore — to tire
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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