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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: vault · racket · net · bark · roll · chair · cold · track

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. roll — a list
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. track — a path
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. track — to keep track
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. vault — a safe
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. net — after costs
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — for catching
  24. track — a song

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