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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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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: racket · drill · wind · tube · key · cold · plane · vault

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. drill — army training
  3. key — in music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. tube — a container
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. tube — the underground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — the tool
  21. vault — a safe
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — a tool

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