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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 120 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 · safe · chest · fork · wind · content · vault · cell

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chest — of your body
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wind — moving air
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. chest — a box
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. chest — of your body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — a phone

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