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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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468
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: leaves · kid · vault · rock · ground · file · spring · drill

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rock — a stone
  3. file — a tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kid — child
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — a safe
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. rock — music
  14. drill — army training
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. spring — of water
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. file — a line of people
  21. drill — the tool
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a document

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