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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. drill — army training
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ground — crushed
  10. march — the month
  11. ground — a position
  12. cap — a lid
  13. march — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bank — of a river
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. fine — high quality
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — all right
  22. bank — for money
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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