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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. net — after costs
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. land — a country
  7. sharp — clever
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. court — for sport
  12. land — ground
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. net — for catching
  19. swing — in golf
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of a king
  24. net — in sport

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