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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: bark · can · wax · firm · pound · court · season · racket

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. firm — a company
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. firm — decided
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. can — a tin
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. firm — steady
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — for sport
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. season — of the year
  24. can — a tin

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