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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 · roll · drill · row · trunk · pit · cold · current

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pit — a hole
  8. drill — a practice
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — a safe
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. row — a line
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cold — an illness

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