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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. club — a group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. clip — a video
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rush — hurry
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lean — thin
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mug — a face
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mug — to rob
  20. lean — to bend
  21. mug — a cup
  22. club — for golf
  23. shower — rain
  24. lean — to rest against

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