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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 120 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: vault · race · bark · row · chair · deal · file · court

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. race — the arms race
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. race — a contest
  7. deal — to handle
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a line
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bark — to shout
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — for sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. file — a document
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. file — a line of people
  24. row — to paddle

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