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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: ball · vault · arm · nail · stem · wound · racket · tear

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wound — an injury
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — a safe
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stem — to come from
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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