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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: bank · bulb · degree · bark · net · cold · vault · rash

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bank — for money
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bank — for money
  5. bark — to shout
  6. net — after costs
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. vault — a safe
  13. net — in sport
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bank — of a river
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. net — for catching
  24. cold — the Cold War

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