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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: vault · kid · lash · season · pound · bat

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. season — in sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. season — of the year
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. kid — child
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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