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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. date — the fruit
  6. vault — a safe
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stand — to bear
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — army training
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pound — a weight

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