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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: wake · key · last · cold · ground · vault · branch · rule

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rule — government
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. branch — a division
  17. key — in music
  18. vault — a safe
  19. rule — a law
  20. wake — a trail
  21. key — the most important part
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  24. key — for a lock

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