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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. swing — in golf
  6. face — part of the head
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. face — to confront
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. chair — a leader
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. track — to keep track
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. face — to point toward
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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