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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — of water
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. track — a path
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tear — from crying
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. vault — a safe
  20. kick — in football
  21. track — a song
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kick — with a leg

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