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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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Word bank
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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: cold · content · spring · key · vault · rock · file · toast

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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 — an arched ceiling
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. key — the most important part
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rock — a stone
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. file — a tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. spring — a coil
  14. file — a line of people
  15. content — the amount
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. toast — bread
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. content — happy
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a document
  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