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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 116 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: court · row · tube · bark · wave · deal · season · rush

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. season — in sport
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. court — of a king
  14. season — of the year
  15. court — of law
  16. row — to paddle
  17. deal — to handle
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tube — a container
  21. row — a line
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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