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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. net — in sport
  12. tube — the underground
  13. club — a group
  14. mug — a cup
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tube — a container
  18. net — for catching
  19. vault — a safe
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. mug — a face
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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