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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mine — for digging
  3. vault — a safe
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — a weight
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stand — to bear
  22. dip — to sink
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. dip — a sauce

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