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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 116 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: tear · hand · fan · pitcher · mine · bark · vault · wake

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitcher — a jug

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