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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: cold · arm · scale · vault · plane · file · firm · wound

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — in music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cold — an illness
  9. vault — a safe
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. scale — size or range
  13. file — a tool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. file — a document
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. plane — a tool

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