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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 · snap · key · squash · drill · vault · ground · hand

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — a position
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — for a lock
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. key — in music
  18. drill — army training
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. drill — the tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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