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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — from a university
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. tear — from crying
  5. vault — a safe
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bore — to tire
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tear — from crying
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bat — the animal

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