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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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Word bank
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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: fan · stand · roll · vault · chest · cold · game · cell

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. roll — a list
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — to bear
  24. fan — a supporter

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