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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 · wind · lie · race · vault · hand · land · sharp

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. bark — to shout
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. race — the arms race
  11. vault — a safe
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — help
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — a contest
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lie — to recline

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