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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: bark · court · wound · root · kid · wind · file · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. root — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — for sport
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. root — of a word
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — moving air
  16. root — the cause
  17. file — a document
  18. wound — an injury
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — moving air
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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