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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: tear · vault · root · field · cabinet · cold

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. vault — a safe
  6. root — of a word
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — the cause
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tear — from crying

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