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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. vault — a safe
  9. land — a country
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — to come down
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chest — a box
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. tear — from crying

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