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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — farmland
  7. vault — a safe
  8. field — a subject
  9. bound — certain
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. field — for sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ground — a position
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bound — obliged
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tear — from crying

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