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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: wake · date · vault · current · wind · cold · drill · pop

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. vault — a safe
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. current — of water
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — happening now
  15. drill — army training
  16. current — electric
  17. pop — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — not warm
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — the fruit

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