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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 120 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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. object — a thing
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — of the year
  7. object — to protest
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. object — an aim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. vault — a safe
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. chip — for betting
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. swing — in golf
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cell — a phone
  20. season — in sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. swing — music

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