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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: stick · file · vault · bowl · suit · cold · kick · kid

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. suit — to fit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kick — in football
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. kid — to tease
  11. file — a document
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a tool
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. vault — a safe
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a line of people
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. kid — child
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cold — an illness

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