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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: straw · fork · calf · vault · tear · roll · sharp · scale

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. scale — in music
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. tear — to rip
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. roll — a list
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. scale — size or range
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tear — from crying
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. fork — in a road
  20. roll — a cake
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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