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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: pitcher · straw · bark · ground · row · vault · mine · trunk

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a line
  16. vault — a safe
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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