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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · band · kid · vault · row · lash

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. kid — child
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. row — a line
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. patient — a sick person

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