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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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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: pound · tear · cabinet · bark · swing · bore · court · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. swing — music
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — of a king
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bore — to drill
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. court — for sport
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bark — to shout
  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