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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: club · leaves · pop · pass · vault · cold · wake · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — soda
  4. club — for dancing
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pass — a permit
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — a trail
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pop — to visit
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. club — a group
  21. pop — music
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. club — for golf

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