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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: cold · squash · bore · sharp · vault · object · rush · can

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. object — to protest
  4. bore — to tire
  5. can — to be able to
  6. object — an aim
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. squash — the sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. object — a thing
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bore — to drill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — a safe
  18. can — a tin
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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