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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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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — from crying
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. row — to paddle
  17. perch — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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