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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: wake · fork · saw · ball · vault · fan · cold · wind

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — a trail
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wind — moving air
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. ball — a great time

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