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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: chest · tear · club · vault · rash · roll

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — a series
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. vault — a safe
  6. rash — hasty
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. club — for dancing
  18. tear — to rip

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