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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 120 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: bore · deal · wound · clip · game · bark · scale · court

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. scale — size or range
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. court — for sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. game — wild animals
  13. court — of law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — in music
  23. bore — to tire
  24. deal — a big deal

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