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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. wound — an injury
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. shower — to wash
  5. current — happening now
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — rain
  12. current — electric
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — to rip
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. court — of a king
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. court — of law

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