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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 · club · lean · face · fall · vault · hide · cell

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — to bend
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cell — in biology
  5. vault — a safe
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. lean — thin
  10. face — to confront
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. club — a group
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. club — for golf
  21. face — to point toward
  22. club — for dancing
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cell — a phone

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