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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: drill · racket · vault · season · squash · prune · toast · cold

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. squash — the sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. season — of the year
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — to trim
  9. toast — bread
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. vault — a safe
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. season — in sport
  22. cold — not warm
  23. prune — to trim
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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