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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 116 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: bark · coach · stem · game · lean · mate · vault · wind

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lean — thin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bark — to shout
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wind — moving air
  24. coach — a trainer

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