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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · court · bowl · bark · club · drill · safe · last

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. court — for sport
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — for golf
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. court — of law
  17. last — finally
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — of a king
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. drill — the tool

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