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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. court — of a king
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pound — a weight
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — for catching
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. file — a line of people
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. file — a document
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bark — to shout

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