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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. court — of law
  3. field — farmland
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. court — of a king
  10. capital — money
  11. court — for sport
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. deal — to handle
  14. field — a subject
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. bark — to shout
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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