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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of a king
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pop — music
  5. court — for sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. present — there
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — a trail
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — of law
  17. swing — music
  18. present — the time now
  19. pop — to visit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pop — soda
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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