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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. field — a subject
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. kick — in football
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a match
  24. pitcher — a jug

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