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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: board · cold · current · chest · fork · lash · vault · craft

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — electric
  3. craft — boats
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — a safe
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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