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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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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: lean · field · scale · kid · bowl · bark · net · vault

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lean — thin
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — child
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. net — in sport
  12. lean — to bend
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. net — for catching
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — for sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bark — to shout
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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