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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 116 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: chip · deal · bore · vault · pop · bat · cold · tube

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. deal — to handle
  3. pop — to visit
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pop — music
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tube — the underground
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tube — a container
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — soda
  22. bat — the animal
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chip — for betting

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