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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — a position
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bat — the animal
  6. vault — a safe
  7. object — a thing
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ground — the earth
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — to paddle
  22. object — an aim
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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