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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. court — of law
  3. mate — to breed
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — magic
  8. scale — in music
  9. swing — music
  10. court — for sport
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. band — a ring
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mate — a friend
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spell — a short time
  22. court — of a king
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. band — a music group

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