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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: cell · pit · vault · ground · kid · wound · bark · rest

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — to tease
  4. vault — a safe
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ground — a position
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — child
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rest — a break
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — the earth
  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