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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. branch — a division
  7. game — a match
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — to rip
  13. suit — clothes
  14. content — the amount
  15. game — wild animals
  16. suit — in cards
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — to play on
  19. content — happy
  20. suit — to fit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. branch — of a bank

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