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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: row · perch · chest · last · bark · race · ball · vault

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. last — finally
  3. row — to paddle
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. last — to go on
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ball — a dance
  10. perch — the fish
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. last — final
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — a box
  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