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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. tear — to rip
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — finally
  6. tube — the underground
  7. race — humankind
  8. bear — the animal
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. last — final
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. clip — a video
  13. face — to point toward
  14. race — a contest
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. face — to confront
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. face — part of the head
  21. tube — a container
  22. last — to go on
  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