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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: rest · mark · firm · chair · lie · game · vault · bat

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. firm — a company
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rest — a break
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lie — to recline
  12. mark — a grade
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — steady
  17. mark — a trace
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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