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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: spring · wound · foot · vault · fine · pound · bark · land

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — to come down
  8. fine — high quality
  9. spring — of water
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fine — all right
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pound — a weight
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. land — ground
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — a country
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. spring — the season
  24. fine — a penalty

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