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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 120 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: kick · kid · squash · rash · cabinet · branch · vault · spring

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kick — in football
  10. squash — to crush
  11. branch — a division
  12. spring — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. vault — a safe
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — of water
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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