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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: vault · cap · foot · cabinet · cold · cell · fork · file

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cap — a hat
  5. file — a document
  6. cell — in biology
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cell — a phone
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — an illness
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cold — not warm

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