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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 120 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: hand · bark · club · hide · vault · bat · chest · wave

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chest — of your body
  11. club — for dancing
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. vault — a safe

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