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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. court — of a king
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. squash — to crush
  7. march — music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. last — to go on
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. march — the month
  22. court — for sport
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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