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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 116 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: chip · row · racket · bound · bat · file · court · lash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — tied together
  11. file — a tool
  12. bound — obliged
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — certain
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. row — a line

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