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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: bowl · vault · lie · bark · mine · file · plane · bear

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. file — a tool

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