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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: vault · bark · fork · row · kick · net · lie · fall

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kick — in football
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fall — the season
  12. net — for catching
  13. lie — to recline
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. row — a line
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. net — after costs

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