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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: safe · field · vault · lash · file · racket · cold · chest

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a document
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. field — for sport
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — a subject
  13. vault — a safe
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. field — farmland
  19. file — a line of people
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chest — a box

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