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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: band · vault · bark · wake · plane · wind · fan · field

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — a subject
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. vault — a safe
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — a trail
  19. band — a music group
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. band — a ring
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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