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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: row · mark · straw · ground · pound · bark · hand · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bark — to shout
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pound — a weight
  10. vault — a safe
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. row — a line
  15. ground — a position
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hand — help

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