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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. root — of a plant
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a ring
  23. file — a document
  24. root — the cause

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