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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: spell · stock · mark · bark · vault · scale · row · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spell — letters
  3. scale — size or range
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bark — to shout
  7. object — an aim
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — a grade
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. stock — goods
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — shares
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — magic
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. object — a thing
  21. spell — a short time
  22. scale — in music
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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