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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 · jam · squash · tear · rash · nail · court

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. squash — to crush
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — hasty
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. tear — to rip
  11. court — for sport
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. court — of a king
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. club — a group
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. club — for golf
  23. court — of law
  24. rash — a series

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