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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. court — of law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — soda
  6. deal — to handle
  7. swing — to play on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cell — a phone
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. swing — music
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — of a king
  21. board — a committee
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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