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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 116 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: pop · ball · bark · game · drill · deal · wound · court

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pop — soda
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. bark — to shout
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. drill — the tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. game — a match
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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