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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 120 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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. row — a line
  4. court — for sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. court — of law
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. swing — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — of a king
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bark — to shout
  23. swing — in golf
  24. calf — a young animal

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