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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. band — a music group
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. band — a ring
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lean — thin
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — an illness

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