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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. court — of a king
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of law
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wound — an injury
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ball — a dance

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