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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: foot · file · object · vault · hand · lash · track · cold

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. vault — a safe
  7. object — a thing
  8. foot — a measure
  9. hand — help
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. object — to protest
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. object — an aim
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. file — a document
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. hand — in cards
  22. track — a song
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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