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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 120 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bank — for money
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. present — a gift
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. present — there
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a dance
  16. hand — in cards
  17. court — of law
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. court — for sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — help
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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