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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. file — a document
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a line of people
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. object — a thing
  10. bore — to drill
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. object — an aim
  13. court — of law
  14. object — to protest
  15. bass — the fish
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bass — low music
  18. bore — to tire
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of a king
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. field — for sport
  24. file — a tool

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