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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: stick · coach · rash · club · net · cabinet · vault · hide

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. net — for catching
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. club — for golf
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. net — in sport
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rash — a series
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. vault — a safe

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