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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: lean · racket · vault · cold · arm · nail · fork · pound

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. lean — to bend
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lean — thin
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. vault — a safe
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fork — in a road

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