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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · wound · pitcher · fork · lash · rule · straw · bulb

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of law
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bulb — for light
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — government
  22. court — for sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — a straw man

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