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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: race · pound · bark · tear · vault · deal

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — a weight
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. tear — to rip
  13. vault — a safe
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. deal — to handle

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