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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: toast · bay · bank · fork · field · vault · kid · cold

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. field — farmland
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. toast — bread
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. field — a subject
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — in a road
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — not warm
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cold — an illness
  24. field — for sport

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