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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a great time
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. court — of law
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. club — for golf
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — to confront
  24. ball — a dance

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