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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. vault — a safe
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — not warm
  5. shower — to wash
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. track — a song
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. shower — rain
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. track — a path

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