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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — music
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. land — to come down
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — in sport
  11. land — ground
  12. season — of the year
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of law
  15. season — in sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fall — the season
  22. net — after costs
  23. land — a country
  24. court — of a king

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