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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — the month
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. court — of law
  11. march — music
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — music
  16. court — for sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a tree

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