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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. court — of law
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stand — to bear
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a committee
  15. court — of a king
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. board — to get on
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wound — an injury

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