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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: court · sharp · bark · club · toast · jam · net · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. sharp — clever
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. club — for golf
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. club — for dancing
  17. file — a document
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. court — of law
  24. jam — in traffic

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