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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. can — to be able to
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. can — a tin
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. club — for dancing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — for catching
  10. can — a tin
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. shower — rain
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. shower — to wash
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. net — after costs
  17. vault — a safe
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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