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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 120 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: lean · bore · pit · branch · vault · cap · land · cold

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. land — ground
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — not warm
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cap — a lid
  12. land — a country
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bore — to tire
  17. land — to come down
  18. lean — to bend
  19. branch — a division
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bore — to drill
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. vault — a safe

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