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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bark — to shout
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wind — moving air
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. club — for golf
  12. court — of a king
  13. club — a group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — for sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. court — of law
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. suit — clothes
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wound — an injury

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