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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. current — of water
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kid — to tease
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bound — obliged
  8. roll — a cake
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. roll — a list
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. current — happening now
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. kid — child
  24. cabinet — ministers

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