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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: present · club · vault · rash · roll · kick · tear · hand

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. present — the time now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. present — a gift
  6. roll — a list
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. present — there
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. hand — help
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rash — a series
  20. club — a group
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. roll — a cake

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