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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. toast — bread
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. pound — a weight
  20. court — of law
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. swing — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — for dogs

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