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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — a list
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — in biology
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. band — a ring
  17. swing — to play on
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. swing — music
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. band — a rubber band

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