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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
468
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: board · bark · clip · wound · wave · object · court · fan

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bark — to shout
  6. board — to get on
  7. court — of a king
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. object — to protest
  18. court — of law
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. board — a committee
  24. clip — a video

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