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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. kick — in football
  3. mate — to breed
  4. can — to be able to
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mate — a partner
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. can — a tin
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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