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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: bowl · bark · field · court · vault · file · land · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. vault — a safe
  9. field — a subject
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. land — to come down
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. land — a country
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. field — farmland
  17. cue — a hint
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. land — ground
  20. bark — to shout
  21. court — of a king
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bowl — to roll

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