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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: kid · press · craft · fall · vault · wound · file · sharp

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. press — a publisher
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wound — an injury
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — boats
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. kid — child
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. sharp — clever
  21. craft — a skill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. sharp — with an edge

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