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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. spring — a coil
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — the season
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. kick — in football
  10. cold — not warm
  11. vault — a safe
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — an illness
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  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