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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 · branch · vault · chest · fall · leaves · bat · net

  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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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. chest — of your body
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — a box
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. net — for catching

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