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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: rest · bark · mouse · date · hide · vault · cold · shower

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. date — the fruit
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rest — what's left
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rest — a break
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. shower — rain
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hide — animal skin

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