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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: bat · capital · chair · can · stick · vault · rule · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. can — to be able to
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a city
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. can — a tin
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bat — the animal

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