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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — a subject
  11. vault — a safe
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. game — a match
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — a video
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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