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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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Word bank
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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: vault · hide · file · tear · plane · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. file — a tool
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. file — a line of people
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. file — a document
  11. vault — a safe
  12. plane — a tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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