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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · cold · vault · mug · wake · march · date · key

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. key — the most important part
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. key — in music
  6. mug — a face
  7. spring — a coil
  8. key — for a lock
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — the month
  13. spring — of water
  14. mug — to rob
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — a safe
  21. march — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mug — a cup

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