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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: pit · march · vault · ground · chair · bark · prune · file

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. file — a document
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — a safe
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pit — a hole
  22. march — music
  23. file — a tool
  24. prune — to trim

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