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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: last · bank · fall · hand · pound · cap · vault · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. last — to go on
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bank — for money
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. last — finally
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bank — for money
  19. last — final
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bank — of a river
  22. fall — to drop
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. fall — to drop

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