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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: cold · rest · vault · kick · jam · cell · fall · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fall — to drop
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fall — the season
  24. kick — in football

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