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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a tool
  3. cue — for pool
  4. vault — a safe
  5. present — the time now
  6. cue — a signal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. present — there
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. tear — to rip
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. present — a gift
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a document

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