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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: nail · chair · hand · lean · cold · vault · fine · fork

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — help
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lean — to bend
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. lean — thin
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fork — in a road
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fine — all right
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fine — high quality
  24. hand — 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