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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: board · bark · court · net · wind · bulb · pass · kid

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. board — to get on
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — in sport
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. net — for catching
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. court — for sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — after costs
  19. pass — a permit
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — child
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. pass — to spend time

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