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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. court — of a king
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. row — a line
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. court — for sport
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. swing — in golf
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. court — of law
  14. branch — a division
  15. mine — for digging
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — to paddle
  22. date — the fruit
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — belonging to me

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