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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 · cold · spring · bay · chair · rule · lean · vault

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rule — government
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chair — a leader
  13. lean — thin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. spring — of water
  21. rule — a law
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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