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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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 — an arched ceiling
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tear — to rip
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — in a road
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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