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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pop — to visit
  5. last — finally
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cue — for pool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a hint
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pop — soda
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pop — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — final
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cue — a signal
  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