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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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