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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a music group
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. court — of a king
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. club — for dancing
  11. band — a ring
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. club — a group
  22. fork — in a road
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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