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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 · chair · roll · bark · row · degree · prune · race

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. roll — a list
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a line
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bark — to shout
  9. race — humankind
  10. vault — a safe
  11. race — a contest
  12. chair — a leader
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — to paddle
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. roll — a cake
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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