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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. saw — the tool
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — hurry
  16. field — for sport
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. vault — a safe
  20. field — a subject
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. saw — the tool
  23. craft — boats
  24. wind — moving air

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