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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — happy
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. club — for dancing
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. club — for golf
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. content — the amount
  15. club — a group
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — the sport
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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