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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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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: bound · fork · court · bark · wave · bat · drill · pit

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fork — in a road
  8. court — for sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of law
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. drill — the tool

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