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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: bat · vault · capital · object · snap · lash · bass · chair

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bass — the fish
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chair — a leader
  8. object — to protest
  9. snap — to click
  10. capital — a city
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. object — an aim
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — low music
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. vault — a safe
  24. object — a thing

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