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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — for sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of law
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fork — in a road
  10. game — a match
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rash — a series
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. racket — for tennis

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