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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. swing — music
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — for sport
  5. kick — in football
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. row — a line
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — goods
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. court — of law
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — shares
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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