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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: band · cold · arm · staff · lash · vault · bat · nail

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. band — a ring
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. staff — employees
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. staff — a stick
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. vault — a safe
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. staff — employees
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. band — a music group

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