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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: face · nail · vault · bark · chest · rule · wax · degree

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rule — government
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rule — a law
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chest — of your body
  21. degree — from a university
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. face — to confront
  24. nail — for a hammer

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