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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. game — a match
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — obliged
  8. court — of a king
  9. bound — tied together
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. root — of a word
  13. bound — certain
  14. court — for sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. club — for golf
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. court — of law
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — a group
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fan — a supporter

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