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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wound — an injury
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — humankind
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fall — the season
  24. race — a contest

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