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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. can — to be able to
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chest — a box
  11. can — a tin
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. can — a tin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — a video
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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