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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: calf · lash · vault · spell · cold · racket · band · bat

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spell — magic
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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