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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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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: clip · bark · vault · rest · spring · pitch · field · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — of water
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. vault — a safe
  13. field — for sport
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. field — farmland
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitch — completely

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