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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: vault · club · root · mine · file · bark · wax · net

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. root — the cause
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. net — for catching
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a tool
  11. root — of a word
  12. net — in sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wax — to grow
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. club — a group
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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