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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 120 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bat — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rock — music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. vault — a safe
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — soda
  12. root — the cause
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pop — music
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — to visit
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. root — of a word
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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