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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 120 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 · field · rest · bound · shower · court · mug · kick

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. court — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rest — a break
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kick — in football
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mug — a face
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mug — a cup
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — rain
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bark — to shout
  17. field — for sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. court — of a king
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — a subject
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. court — of law

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