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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — finally
  3. club — a group
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — to go on
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. court — of a king
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. court — of law
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. last — final

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