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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a trace
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. tear — from crying
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mark — a grade
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. date — the fruit
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tear — to rip

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