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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 116 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: cold · content · season · ground · vault · press · row · key

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. content — happy
  3. key — in music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. content — the amount
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. press — to push
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ground — the earth
  19. season — of the year
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. press — a publisher
  24. row — a line

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