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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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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: present · fan · firm · bat · leaves · wound · vault · cold

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — a gift
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cold — an illness
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. present — there
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. firm — a company
  19. wound — an injury
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. present — the time now
  24. firm — steady

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