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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: ball · snap · bulb · band · chair · row · bark · court

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a dance
  4. court — for sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. court — of law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. band — a music group
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bulb — for light
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a ring

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