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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: last · chest · bay · fork · wave · cold · vault · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — a safe
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — finally
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cold — an illness
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. last — final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bay — a horse colour

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