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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 · bark · net · content · vault · rush · court · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. content — the amount
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. content — happy
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — of law
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. branch — a division
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. court — of a king
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bark — to shout
  24. branch — of a bank

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