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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: arm · game · clip · suit · fork · vault · cold · field

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. clip — to cut
  3. suit — clothes
  4. vault — a safe
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. game — wild animals
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — an illness
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. fork — in a road
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — a match

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