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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. rush — hurry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. row — a line
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stem — to come from
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cell — in biology
  24. vault — a safe

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