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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — in golf
  7. court — of a king
  8. swing — to play on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. swing — music
  11. face — to point toward
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — to drill
  14. court — of law
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — to wash
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rock — a stone

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