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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cue — a signal
  18. court — of a king
  19. hand — help
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cue — for pool
  24. hand — part of the body

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