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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rule — a law
  7. swing — music
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rush — hurry
  19. swing — to play on
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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