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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. file — a tool
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fine — high quality
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a document
  20. fine — all right
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. file — a line of people

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