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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 · shower · face · lash · vault · content · clip · track

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. vault — a safe
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. shower — to wash
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. track — a song
  11. face — to point toward
  12. track — a path
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — of the year
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. shower — rain

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