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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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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: fork · rock · lash · field · trunk · capital · pound · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rock — music
  3. capital — money
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. field — for sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — a city
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pound — a weight
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — in a road

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