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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: clip · field · stem · vault · wake · plane · bark · pop

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. stem — to come from
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. field — farmland
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — a subject
  9. clip — a video
  10. pop — to visit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — soda
  13. field — for sport
  14. pop — music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bark — to shout

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