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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: squash · fine · row · cold · vault · bound · net · tear

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. vault — a safe
  5. tear — from crying
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — for catching
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. row — a line
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — in sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bound — obliged

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