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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: lie · march · vault · pitch · cap · bear · clip · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — the month
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — a video
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. march — the month
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bear — the animal
  24. tear — to rip

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