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

Word bank: land · court · staff · pop · nail · bark

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. pop — soda
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. staff — a stick
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — music
  16. staff — employees
  17. pop — to visit
  18. court — of law

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