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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: kid · date · spell · straw · cell · vault · chest · squash

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — magic
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spell — letters
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cell — in biology
  18. squash — the sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cell — a phone
  21. vault — a safe
  22. date — the fruit
  23. squash — to crush
  24. date — on the calendar

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