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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: wind · drill · stock · cap · file · field · vault · foot

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a document
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. stock — shares
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. stock — goods
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a line of people
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — the tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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