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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: club · bark · rash · bowl · field · saw · court · sharp

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bark — to shout
  6. field — a subject
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. field — for sport
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — of law
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. club — for dancing
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — for sport
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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