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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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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: hand · fork · chest · lash · wax · vault · perch · rush

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hand — help
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. vault — a safe
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chest — of your body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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