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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 · lean · wound · cap · chair · racket · vault · content

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. content — happy
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lean — thin
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fork — in a road
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chair — a professorship

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