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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a hint
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. court — of a king
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — of law
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. swing — music
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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