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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: tube · firm · tear · bark · sharp · wound · court · rest

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. firm — a company
  5. tube — the underground
  6. firm — decided
  7. tube — a container
  8. firm — steady
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — a break
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — to shout
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — an injury

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