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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. last — to go on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — finally
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. swing — music
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. scale — in music
  24. calf — a young animal

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