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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. branch — a division
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stand — to bear

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