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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: wave · pitcher · sharp · band · hand · deal · bark · court

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. band — a ring
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. hand — in cards
  11. court — of law
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. court — for sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. band — a music group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — help
  24. sharp — with an edge

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