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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: mine · bark · sharp · file · patient · fan · vault · wake

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wake — a trail
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a tool

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