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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: drill · dip · bulb · file · hand · vault · tear · cold

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bulb — for light
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. drill — the tool
  10. file — a document
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — help
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. vault — a safe
  17. drill — army training
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. drill — a practice
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. dip — to sink
  24. tear — to rip

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