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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: season · vault · mate · lash · cold · last · game · bay

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — not warm
  5. season — of the year
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. last — final
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. game — a match
  23. mate — to breed
  24. season — in sport

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