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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rush · squash · cold · drill · cabinet · degree · vault · chair

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. drill — army training
  13. rush — hurry
  14. degree — from a university
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. vault — a safe
  19. drill — a practice
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. degree — temperature
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rush — to hurry

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