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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bark · wake · arm · cue · spell · chest · rash

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. rash — a series
  7. cue — a hint
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rash — hasty
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bark — to shout
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. court — for sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — a box
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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