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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 120 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. court — for sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. mark — a grade
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bound — tied together
  12. court — of a king
  13. bound — obliged
  14. can — a tin
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of law
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. can — a tin
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — of water

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