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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. spell — letters
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — a thing
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spell — a short time
  11. game — wild animals
  12. snap — to click
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of a king
  16. game — a match
  17. court — for sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — the tool
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — to protest
  24. swing — music

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