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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. race — a contest
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. vault — a safe
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mate — to breed
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. squash — to crush
  22. saw — the tool
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. race — humankind

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