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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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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bass — low music
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — in football
  7. lean — thin
  8. rash — a series
  9. root — of a word
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — the cause
  16. spell — a short time
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spell — magic
  19. chest — a box
  20. lean — to bend
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spell — letters

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