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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. swing — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — help
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of a king
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. season — in sport
  18. hand — in cards
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — for sport
  22. foot — a measure
  23. court — of law
  24. foot — the bottom

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