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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: chest · tear · mate · last · bark · vault · bat · bore

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bore — to drill
  5. vault — a safe
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. last — to go on
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chest — a box
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — a friend

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