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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. row — a line
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — to paddle
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — the animal
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — happening now
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — of water
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rash — hasty
  21. court — for sport
  22. current — electric
  23. court — of law
  24. bat — for baseball

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