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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: hand · vault · tear · wave · present · race · bound · pitcher

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bound — certain
  11. race — a contest
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. race — the arms race
  14. present — the time now
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. present — there
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — humankind

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