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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: coach · cold · ball · rush · vault · cabinet · hand · cap

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ball — a great time
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — help
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rush — hurry
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — an illness
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cap — a hat
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cabinet — ministers

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