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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: court · track · file · ball · suit · tear · last · bark

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ball — a dance
  3. file — a document
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. track — a song
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — to keep track
  11. court — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. court — of a king
  15. suit — to fit
  16. track — a path
  17. court — of law
  18. suit — clothes
  19. ball — a great time
  20. suit — in cards
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. last — final

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