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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: content · rush · fork · mate · date · bark · vault · race

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mate — a friend
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — happy
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. race — the arms race
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mate — a partner
  18. date — the fruit
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rush — a thrill

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