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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. perch — the fish
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — wild animals
  7. swing — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — in cards
  12. last — final
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. last — finally
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — to play on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — for sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. prune — to trim
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of a king

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