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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: fork · fall · vault · game · chest · kid · craft · race

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — wild animals
  5. kid — child
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fall — the season
  10. race — the arms race
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. craft — a skill
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — a box
  18. craft — boats
  19. race — humankind
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — of your body

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