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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bank — for money
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. season — of the year
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. land — ground
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — to come down
  16. bank — of a river
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — a country
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — rain
  23. court — of law
  24. nail — for a hammer

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