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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. swing — music
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bank — of a river
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bank — for money
  7. pound — a weight
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bank — for money
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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