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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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Word bank
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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: wound · bark · chest · lash · leaves · press · mate · vault

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. press — to push
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chest — a box
  7. vault — a safe
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mate — a friend
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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