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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: cold · deal · vault · patient · hide · drill

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. drill — army training
  8. vault — a safe
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — not warm
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. hide — animal skin

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