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

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. last — to go on
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — to keep track
  11. staff — employees
  12. game — wild animals
  13. last — final
  14. court — of law
  15. staff — employees
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — a match
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. staff — a stick

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