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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — of the year
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of law
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pop — soda
  9. swing — to play on
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. swing — music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pop — music
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. season — in sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — the month
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pop — to visit

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