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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: vault · mine · hide · wake · cold · press · cell · craft

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. craft — boats
  15. press — to push
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cell — a phone
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wake — a trail
  24. press — newspapers

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