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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: cold · vault · lash · kid · leaves · stem · dip · spell

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. spell — a short time
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. stem — to come from
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — magic
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kid — child
  22. vault — a safe
  23. dip — to sink
  24. leaves — to go away

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