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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: craft · vault · cold · cell · wake · track · capital · fall

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — to drop
  8. craft — boats
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cell — a phone
  21. capital — a city
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fall — to drop
  24. vault — a safe

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