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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · race · degree · coach · vault · tube · leaves · rash

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rash — a series
  7. race — humankind
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. tube — a container
  10. rash — hasty
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — a contest
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. race — the arms race

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