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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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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 · vault · stem · cold · file · march

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. file — a document
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. file — a tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — music
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — a safe
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fork — a garden tool

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