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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · bound · track · drill · bark · wind · safe · object

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — for sport
  4. track — a path
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — a song
  10. drill — army training
  11. bound — tied together
  12. object — to protest
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bound — obliged
  16. object — a thing
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — an aim
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bound — certain
  21. court — of a king
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. drill — a practice
  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