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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bound — certain
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — music
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bound — tied together
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — shares
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stock — goods
  22. spring — the season
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. plane — a tool

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