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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: march · bat · vault · wound · wind · mouse · press · bark

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. press — a publisher
  16. march — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. press — newspapers
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. press — to push
  24. wind — to turn a key

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