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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. board — a committee
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — to paddle
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. board — to get on
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bark — to shout
  18. capital — money
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. row — a line
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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