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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cold — an illness
  9. row — to paddle
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — not warm
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. vault — a safe
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mark — a trace
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bark — to shout
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a line

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