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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 116 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. drill — the tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. pit — a hole
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rash — hasty
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. court — of law
  14. swing — in golf
  15. drill — a practice
  16. game — a match
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. drill — army training
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pit — in a race

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