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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. game — a match
  6. swing — to play on
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. swing — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — bread
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. squash — the vegetable

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