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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 120 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: bark · trunk · degree · vault · ground · bound · pitcher · race

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ground — a position
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. bound — obliged
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — to shout
  16. vault — a safe
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bound — certain
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. degree — temperature

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