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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pop — to visit
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fine — all right
  8. net — for catching
  9. pop — soda
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cue — a hint
  12. court — for sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. court — of law
  15. pop — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — a practice
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cue — a signal
  22. drill — army training
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. court — of a king

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