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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: vault · tear · straw · chip · land · patient · capital · bore

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bore — to tire
  7. capital — a city
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. land — a country
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. chip — for betting
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bore — to drill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — to eat
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. land — ground

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