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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 · stand · clip · bark · racket · pound · key · nail

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stand — to bear
  3. court — of a king
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pound — a weight
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. court — of law
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. key — in music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bark — of a tree

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