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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. swing — music
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. swing — to play on
  6. last — final
  7. mate — a friend
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. swing — in golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. mine — for digging
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mate — a partner
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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