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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 120 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: cap · vault · file · kick · fork · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cap — of ice
  18. lean — to bend

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