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

Word bank: mate · chest · club · vault · rash · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. club — for golf
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rest — a break
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing

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