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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 116 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: fork · vault · bowl · cold · lash · rash · wind · snap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. snap — to click
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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