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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. club — for dancing
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. march — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. shower — rain
  12. cell — in biology
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cell — a phone
  17. club — for golf
  18. march — the month
  19. club — a group
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — for 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