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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · file · row · vault · bat · tear

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. 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. vault — a safe
  2. bat — the animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. tear — to rip
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — to paddle
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. 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