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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: mine · kid · cue · fall · ground · vault · fork · fan

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ground — the earth
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cue — a hint
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cue — for pool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fall — the season
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — child
  24. fall — to drop

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