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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
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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 · leaves · kid · track · row · court · tube · clip

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — of a king
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. track — a path
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. track — a song
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bark — to shout
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — child
  24. leaves — lets stay

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