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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 120 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. court — of law
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. court — of a king
  12. last — finally
  13. stock — goods
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. court — for sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. swing — to play on
  20. capital — a city
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stock — shares

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