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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: tear · lash · cold · rush · vault · kid · bound · arm

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bound — tied together
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bound — obliged
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tear — to rip
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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