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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: toast · temple · fork · cold · row · vault · mark · bark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. toast — bread
  11. cold — an illness
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fork — in a road
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — a line
  22. bark — to shout
  23. vault — a safe
  24. row — to paddle

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