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

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stand — to bear
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. land — to come down
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — rain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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