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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: bark · toast · sharp · court · craft · season · bound · file

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. court — of law
  3. bound — tied together
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a skill
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — certain
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. court — of a king
  14. season — in sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bound — obliged
  20. court — for sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a document

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