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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 116 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 · bass · hand · vault · pitcher · rule · rest · stick

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rule — a law
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bass — low music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rule — government
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — a break
  24. bass — the fish

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