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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 120 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spell — a short time
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. chest — a box
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. spell — letters
  13. cap — a hat
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. fall — the season
  18. spell — magic
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — in sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. season — to add flavour

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