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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: track · lean · fork · vault · patient · season · roll · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. season — of the year
  3. roll — a cake
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. lean — thin
  7. fork — in a road
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. track — a song
  10. lean — to bend
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — in sport
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. roll — a list
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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