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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: vault · press · cap · wake · bat · drill · mine · spring

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. press — to push
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — a practice
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. spring — of water
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. vault — a safe
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wake — a trail
  20. drill — army training
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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