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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. present — the time now
  3. swing — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. season — of the year
  10. ball — a great time
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. season — in sport
  13. present — there
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a match
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — of ice
  21. present — a gift
  22. court — for sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cap — a hat

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