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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. club — for golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — in sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bound — tied together
  15. net — after costs
  16. shower — rain
  17. wound — an injury
  18. club — a group
  19. bound — obliged
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. net — for catching
  23. bound — certain
  24. lash — to lash out

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