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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: ball · deal · court · bank · craft · bat · file · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. court — of law
  3. craft — a skill
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. deal — to handle
  8. file — a tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. court — for sport
  11. bank — of a river
  12. ball — a dance
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — of a king
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — boats
  23. bank — for money
  24. deal — a big deal

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