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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. drill — a practice
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. drill — army training
  7. swing — music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. court — of law
  10. shower — rain
  11. snap — to click
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of a king
  14. club — a group
  15. cell — a phone
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. swing — in golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. swing — to play on
  21. drill — the tool
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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