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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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Word bank
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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 · bat · plane · kid · bark · wound · arm · season

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — to tease
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. vault — a safe
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. season — of the year
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. season — in sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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