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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · press · drill · wind · bark · calf

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. press — to push
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wind — moving air
  8. vault — a safe
  9. press — newspapers
  10. drill — the tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — to shout
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. drill — army training
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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