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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 · pit · wake · bark · cabinet · chest · vault · field

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chest — a box
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — a subject
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pit — in a race
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — for sport
  19. pit — a hole
  20. clip — a video
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chest — of your body

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