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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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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: cold · hand · chip · bark · vault · bear · fork · content

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. chip — for betting
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — help
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. content — the amount
  23. fork — to eat with
  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