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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 · toast · saw · fall · stem · cold · pitcher · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fall — the season
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. saw — the tool
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — not warm
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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