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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 · wound · chest · suit · land · vault · branch · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — a country
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — a box
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — to tease
  10. land — to come down
  11. suit — in cards
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. suit — to fit
  21. vault — a safe
  22. suit — clothes
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. land — ground

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