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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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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: stem · file · wind · tear · hand · kick · vault · kid

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — child
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. vault — a safe
  7. stem — to come from
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. kick — in football
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — to turn a key

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