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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 120 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: wound · net · hand · court · fan · chip · bark · fine

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chip — to eat
  8. net — for catching
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — to shout
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — for sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fine — all right
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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