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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: staff · saw · cell · pitcher · cold · vault · foot · fine

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. saw — the tool
  15. foot — a measure
  16. staff — a stick
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. vault — a safe
  24. foot — the bottom

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