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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rash — a series
  3. game — a match
  4. rock — music
  5. court — of law
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rock — a stone
  9. row — a line
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. row — to paddle
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rash — hasty

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