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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. swing — music
  4. track — a path
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. court — of law
  8. track — a song
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cell — in biology
  14. court — of a king
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — for sport
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ball — a great time
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rest — a break
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. swing — in golf

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