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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — a trail
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mug — a cup
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mug — a face
  23. tear — to rip
  24. saw — the tool

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