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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. swing — in golf
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. court — of law
  10. land — a country
  11. court — of a king
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — a position
  18. land — ground
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. land — to come down

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