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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: pit · bear · cap · chest · kick · lash · vault · hand

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. vault — a safe
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — in football
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hand — help
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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