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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cue — a signal
  8. net — for catching
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — to wash
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. stem — to come from
  19. court — of law
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pound — a weight

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