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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: nail · saw · fan · pitcher · wake · tear · rash · vault

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rash — hasty
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tear — from crying
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. saw — the tool
  24. vault — a safe

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