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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — music
  5. court — of a king
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chest — a box
  8. cap — a hat
  9. swing — in golf
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fine — high quality
  15. spring — a coil
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spring — of water
  21. date — the fruit
  22. court — of law
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cap — of ice

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