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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: cell · cold · track · bound · court · bank · hand · bark

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. track — a song
  9. bank — for money
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bound — obliged
  19. track — a path
  20. bank — of a river
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of a king
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — not warm

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