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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: kid · dip · chest · vault · branch · bat · bark · racket

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chest — a box
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — a division
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. vault — a safe
  19. dip — to sink
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. branch — of a bank

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