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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: last · file · wind · temple · pitcher · tear · vault · object

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — final
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — to go on
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — a thing
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — to rip
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. object — to protest
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. vault — a safe
  23. last — finally
  24. pitcher — a jug

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