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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 124 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: chair · cold · suit · vault · fork · chest · kick · file

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — in a road
  3. suit — to fit
  4. suit — clothes
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. file — a document
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a tool
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. suit — in cards

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