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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: bat · band · rest · hand · fine · vault · fork · bark

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fork — in a road
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bark — to shout
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a ring
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. fine — all right
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. band — a music group

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