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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: field · lash · sharp · bark · vault · rush · cell · rule

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. rule — government
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — a law
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bark — to shout
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. sharp — exactly

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