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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: pitcher · tear · vault · racket · cold · rush · object · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rush — hurry
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. object — a thing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — an illness
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cold — not warm
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. object — to protest
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hand — help
  20. object — an aim
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. racket — for tennis

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