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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: temple · chest · wind · hand · vault · tear · hide · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hand — help
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — part of the body

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