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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 116 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: racket · cold · squash · dip · vault · hide · craft · drill

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. drill — army training
  24. dip — to sink

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