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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · bulb · rash · pitch · hand · bark

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rash — a series
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. rash — hasty

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