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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: cold · file · ruler · bark · rule · row · roll · vault

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — government
  3. row — to paddle
  4. file — a tool
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. roll — a list
  9. file — a document
  10. row — a line
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bark — to shout
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. row — a quarrel
  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