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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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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: foot · lean · bark · wind · pound · vault · roll · mine

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. lean — thin
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. foot — a measure
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. roll — a cake
  14. vault — a safe
  15. roll — a list
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bark — to shout
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wind — moving air

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