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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. net — for catching
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — in music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — in sport
  8. present — a gift
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spring — of water
  12. present — there
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. swing — music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. swing — in golf
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. present — the time now

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