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

Word bank: wind · court · row · swing · pitcher · cell

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in biology
  3. swing — to play on
  4. row — a line
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. swing — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cell — a phone
  14. swing — in golf
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. court — for 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