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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 · spell · lash · mine · pound · file · vault · chip

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. tear — from crying
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. file — a document
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mine — for digging
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. spell — magic

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