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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 120 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: stem · kid · ground · lash · cue · vault · clip · chest

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cue — for pool
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — to tease
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cue — a hint
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — a box
  18. cue — a signal
  19. ground — a position
  20. clip — for paper
  21. vault — a safe
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — the earth

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