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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: vault · can · race · squash · wound · cell · rock · date

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. date — the fruit
  3. race — a contest
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rock — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rock — a stone
  19. can — a tin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. wound — an injury
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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