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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: chair · can · bark · mate · stand · vault · file · field

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. file — a tool
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. field — farmland
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stand — to bear
  12. field — a subject
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. file — a document
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mate — a friend
  24. field — for sport

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