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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: net · branch · bark · snap · stock · field · land · vault

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. net — after costs
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. net — in sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. field — for sport
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — to come down
  15. branch — a division
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — for catching
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — ground
  24. stock — a soup base

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