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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — finally
  3. bark — to shout
  4. tube — the underground
  5. last — final
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. vault — a safe
  9. march — the month
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. last — to go on
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kid — to tease
  23. march — music
  24. chair — a leader

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