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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: vault · staff · cold · fan · mine · ground · cabinet · coach

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ground — crushed
  10. staff — employees
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. vault — a safe
  20. staff — employees
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — a position
  24. cold — an illness

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