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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: vault · racket · kid · bore · kick · cold · lash · prune

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bore — to tire
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bore — to drill
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kick — in football
  24. cold — the Cold War

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