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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — of a king
  9. firm — decided
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. swing — music
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. firm — a company
  20. swing — in golf
  21. firm — steady
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rash — a series
  24. pound — a weight

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