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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 120 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: wind · rash · board · swing · file · court · bowl · object

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. file — a line of people
  3. court — of law
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — a thing
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — a committee
  12. object — an aim
  13. rash — a series
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — hasty
  21. board — to get on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. file — a tool
  24. object — to protest

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