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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: rule · vault · pound · bark · mine · snap · field · wound

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. field — for sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. field — a subject
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rule — a law
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to click
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. rule — government
  24. field — farmland

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