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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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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: nail · bark · key · saw · wound · snap · tear · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. snap — to click
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. court — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bark — of a tree

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