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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
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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: drill · coach · chip · stock · game · temple · vault · cold

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chip — for betting
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — an illness
  14. vault — a safe
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. game — a match
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. game — wild animals

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