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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 120 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: swing · net · wake · court · spring · club · vault · bark

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. club — a group
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of a king
  5. vault — a safe
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — of water
  14. court — of law
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. court — for sport
  19. net — in sport
  20. swing — music
  21. club — for golf
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. net — for catching
  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