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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: rest · squash · vault · wind · cap · game · wake · lean

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lean — to bend
  3. game — a match
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a lid
  8. vault — a safe
  9. rest — what's left
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lean — thin
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. squash — the sport
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cap — of ice
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rest — a break
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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