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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 · prune · wind · wound · arm · spring · rash · court

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — the season
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — to trim
  19. club — a group
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rash — a series
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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