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

Word bank: pound · bat · net · root · vault · rule

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — the animal
  4. net — for catching
  5. root — of a plant
  6. net — after costs
  7. root — the cause
  8. net — in sport
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. vault — a safe
  14. rule — a law
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pound — a weight
  17. rule — government
  18. bat — for baseball

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