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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · chip · tear · hide · march · swing

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chip — to eat
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — for betting
  15. march — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — music
  18. hide — animal skin

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