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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: net · straw · kick · board · vault · cap · stem · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. net — for catching
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stem — to come from
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — a safe
  8. board — to get on
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — after costs
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cap — of ice
  17. net — in sport
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stem — of a plant

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