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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: spring · cell · chair · wound · bat · rock · vault · fall

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fall — the season
  8. rock — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bat — the animal
  19. vault — a safe
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — a leader

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