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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 120 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. court — for sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — to shout
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stock — shares
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — finally
  19. current — of water
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — to go on
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — electric
  24. row — a line

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