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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: pitcher · fall · stem · lash · vault · toast · ground · last

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. toast — bread
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fall — the season
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — final
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fall — to drop
  24. toast — the most admired

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