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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: vault · cap · club · fork · calf · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cap — of ice
  4. club — for golf
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — an illness
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cap — a hat
  13. club — a group
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fork — in a road
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. vault — a safe

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