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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — a city
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — money
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. capital — a big letter

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