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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. race — the arms race
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. race — a contest
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rule — government
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. race — humankind
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chest — a box
  24. bark — to shout

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