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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
468
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: rash · ground · racket · bark · court · nail · spring · mine

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — a series
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — of a king
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spring — a coil
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. court — of law
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. spring — of water
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mine — for digging
  24. racket — a loud noise

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