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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: hand · clip · chair · toast · deal · bark · stick · court

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. clip — a video
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — for paper
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. toast — bread
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. court — of law
  21. deal — to handle
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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