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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 · nail · swing · vault · squash · object · band · current

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. vault — a safe
  4. current — happening now
  5. object — an aim
  6. current — electric
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — to crush
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. current — of water
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — not warm
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. squash — the sport

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