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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 · bay · can · vault · race · hand · cell · pound

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. can — a tin
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. pound — a weight
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cell — in biology
  22. can — a tin
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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