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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 120 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: cold · rush · mug · kid · squash · stand · cabinet · dip

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rush — hurry
  8. dip — to sink
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. squash — the sport
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. mug — a face

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