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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. file — a document
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. swing — to play on
  5. file — a tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. file — a line of people
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — of water
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. swing — music

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