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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: vault · bay · dip · tear · squash · kid · march · content

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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. dip — to dunk
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. kid — child
  9. squash — to crush
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. march — music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. vault — a safe
  16. dip — to sink
  17. tear — from crying
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — the month
  21. kid — to tease
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — the vegetable

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