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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. can — to be able to
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — a tin
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fall — the season
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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