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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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Word bank
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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: fork · spring · drill · vault · club · cold

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spring — of water
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — a practice
  11. club — for golf
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. vault — a safe
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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