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

Word bank: wound · craft · bat · file · court · stick · deal · perch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. craft — boats
  12. wound — an injury
  13. craft — a skill
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. perch — for a bird

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