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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 · bound · net · straw · degree · dip · cold · vault

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. net — after costs
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bound — obliged
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — for catching
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — in sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — a safe
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bound — certain
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. degree — an amount
  18. dip — to sink
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. dip — to dunk

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