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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spell — magic
  7. can — to be able to
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. can — a tin
  17. spell — a short time
  18. tear — from crying
  19. can — a tin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. spell — letters
  24. lean — to rest against

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