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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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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: kick · hand · fork · branch · fall · cold · wax · vault

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fork — in a road
  3. vault — a safe
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. branch — a division
  7. wax — to grow
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fall — the season
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cold — not warm
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. branch — of a bank

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