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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — of law
  5. mine — for digging
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. court — of a king
  9. cap — a lid
  10. court — for sport
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ground — crushed
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bank — of a river
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bank — for money
  24. ball — a dance

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