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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. club — for dancing
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fork — in a road
  10. row — a line
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wound — an injury
  15. club — for golf
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. club — a group
  24. cell — in biology

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