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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: bound · bark · net · object · hand · last · court · cabinet

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. object — to protest
  4. bound — obliged
  5. last — to go on
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of law
  8. net — in sport
  9. hand — help
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. net — for catching
  12. court — for sport
  13. object — an aim
  14. court — of a king
  15. net — after costs
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bark — to shout
  18. last — final
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cabinet — ministers

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