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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 116 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: fan · vault · patient · staff · firm · deal · lean · cold

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. vault — a safe
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — not warm
  6. firm — a company
  7. lean — thin
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. firm — steady
  10. deal — to handle
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. firm — decided
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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