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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rock — a stone
  3. swing — in golf
  4. snap — to click
  5. branch — a division
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. court — of a king
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rock — music
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. spring — of water
  15. pound — a weight
  16. court — for sport
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. march — the month
  19. swing — music
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. court — of law
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. branch — 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