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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: clip · stand · court · pop · sharp · bark · content · firm

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stand — to bear
  10. firm — steady
  11. bark — to shout
  12. content — the amount
  13. sharp — clever
  14. firm — decided
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. court — of a king
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. clip — a video
  22. pop — to visit
  23. firm — a company
  24. content — happy

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