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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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Word bank
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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: fork · march · vault · fall · cold · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fall — to drop
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fork — in a road
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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