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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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 water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. vault — a safe
  3. file — a tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wake — a trail
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. key — in music
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — an illness
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. file — a line of people
  17. drill — army training
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. file — a document
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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