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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.

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: hand · court · bark · wound · track · fork · fall · tube

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of law
  4. track — a song
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fall — the season
  22. hand — help
  23. tube — a container
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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