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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — help
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — there
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. present — the time now
  10. ground — the earth
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. ground — a position
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. present — a gift
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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