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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pound — a weight
  3. present — there
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. file — a tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a document
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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