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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: bay · court · mouse · prune · march · wake · wound · chest

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. court — of law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bay — a horse colour

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