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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: last · staff · vault · lash · foot · kid · spring · rest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spring — of water
  4. rest — a break
  5. last — final
  6. vault — a safe
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — to tease
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. staff — a stick
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. foot — a measure
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. foot — the bottom

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