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

Word bank: tear · cold · hide · current · vault · rest · squash · roll

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — from crying
  3. vault — a safe
  4. squash — to crush
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — an illness
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. current — happening now
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tear — to rip
  15. roll — a list
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. current — electric
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rest — what's left
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. hide — to keep secret

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