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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: club · vault · rush · squash · wind · snap · cold · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to click
  12. rush — hurry
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. squash — to crush
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. squash — the sport
  23. club — a group
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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