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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bound — certain
  4. kid — child
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — ground
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — to come down
  17. court — of law
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stock — goods
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bound — obliged
  22. stock — shares
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. dip — to sink

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