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

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. court — for sport
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — letters
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bound — tied together
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bound — obliged
  15. court — of a king
  16. spell — magic
  17. root — of a word
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. root — the cause
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bound — certain
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. court — of law

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