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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. squash — the sport
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. current — happening now
  6. rest — a break
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bat — the animal
  16. current — electric
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. roll — a list
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. current — of water

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