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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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Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — of law
  4. cue — a signal
  5. court — for sport
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — a subject
  19. bark — to shout
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cue — a hint
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bark — of a tree

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