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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: vault · bark · land · craft · tear · cabinet · race · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. vault — a safe
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — to come down
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. craft — boats
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — the arms race
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. race — a contest
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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