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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: fork · swing · tear · vault · mine · fall · pop · plane

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. fork — in a road
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. swing — music
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — to visit
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fall — to drop

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