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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 116 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: root · shower · bark · race · clip · vault · fork · file

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. root — of a plant
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. race — humankind
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — a video
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. race — a contest
  10. vault — a safe
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — to cut
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. root — the cause
  19. file — a tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. root — of a word
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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