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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. root — of a plant
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mug — to rob
  11. court — of a king
  12. mug — a cup
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a tool
  15. root — the cause
  16. mug — a face
  17. wound — an injury
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. court — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. root — of a word
  23. prune — to trim
  24. club — for dancing

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