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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. object — an aim
  3. court — of law
  4. object — a thing
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — to shout
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — to come from
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fine — high quality
  14. net — in sport
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. object — to protest
  17. net — for catching
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — after costs
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. band — a music group
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fine — all right

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