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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 · bark · wound · march · calf · tear

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tear — to rip
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying

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