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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
468
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: cold · rash · game · foot · vault · degree · saw · mine

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — a safe
  3. game — a match
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rash — a series
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — an amount
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rash — on the skin

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