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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: vault · date · drill · kid · coach · scale · cold · prune

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. drill — a practice
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. scale — in music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — to tease
  12. prune — to trim
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. date — the fruit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. drill — army training
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — child
  22. vault — a safe
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — the 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