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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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Word bank
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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: drill · leaves · vault · chest · wound · tear · saw · track

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. drill — the tool
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. chest — a box
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. track — a path
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — to keep track
  20. drill — a practice
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — army training
  24. track — a song

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