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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 · bark · game · firm · chest · mine · sharp · fork

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. firm — decided
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. game — a match
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. game — wild animals
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. firm — a company
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mine — for digging
  19. firm — steady
  20. chest — of your body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  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