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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. can — a tin
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. can — to be able to
  5. file — a line of people
  6. vault — a safe
  7. file — a document
  8. kid — child
  9. last — final
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. clip — to cut
  14. last — finally
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — the fish
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — to go on
  22. bass — low music
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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