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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. court — of a king
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bear — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — a line
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a ring
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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