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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spring — the season
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rest — a break
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spring — of water
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. rest — what's left

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