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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: bark · band · vault · safe · ground · board · hide · cold

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. vault — a safe
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. band — a music group
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. ground — a position
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ground — crushed
  18. board — to get on
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. board — a committee
  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