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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. court — for sport
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wound — an injury
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. tear — from crying

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