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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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468
Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a cup
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — employees
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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