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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: hand · fine · court · rash · wave · bark · track · swing

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. track — a path
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — a series
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. court — for sport
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bark — to shout
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — a song
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. swing — music
  24. court — of a king

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