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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 120 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: bark · face · content · drill · vault · race · club · bowl

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. content — happy
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. drill — army training
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — a contest
  9. face — part of the head
  10. club — a group
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. face — to point toward
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. race — humankind
  18. drill — the tool
  19. club — for dancing
  20. face — to confront
  21. club — for golf
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. vault — a safe

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