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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: pound · swing · court · chip · wound · club · bulb · wind

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. court — of law
  3. club — a group
  4. court — of a king
  5. swing — to play on
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bulb — for light
  13. swing — in golf
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — music

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