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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: club · wound · hide · march · sharp · pitcher · leaves · court

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. club — a group
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of law
  24. hide — to keep secret

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