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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. spell — letters
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bass — low music

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