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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: track · cold · bark · game · rock · vault · wound · swing

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. swing — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — a path
  14. swing — to play on
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rock — music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rock — a stone

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