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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: foot · saw · fan · vault · cold · fall · trunk · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. fall — to drop
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. foot — a measure
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fall — the season
  24. foot — part of the body

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