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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: rock · vault · kick · bark · nail · land · kid · wound

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — to shout
  10. land — ground
  11. kick — in football
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rock — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. vault — a safe
  20. kid — child
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. nail — on a finger

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