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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. mate — a friend
  6. vault — a safe
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a music group
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — happy
  13. mate — a partner
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — in football
  17. content — the amount
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a ring
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fork — to eat with

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