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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: lash · degree · cold · file · suit · patient · vault · cell

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. suit — in cards
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. suit — clothes
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — an illness
  21. vault — a safe
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. suit — to fit

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