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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 120 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 · content · kick · row · band · chest · vault · saw

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. band — a ring
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a music group
  14. vault — a safe
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — happy
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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