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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: cap · last · patient · drill · vault · fork

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. drill — army training
  5. cap — a lid
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — to go on
  16. fork — in a road
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — finally

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