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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: current · wake · bulb · drill · vault · field · fall · cap

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — a subject
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cap — of ice
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cap — a hat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. fall — to drop

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