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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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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: snap · pop · court · racket · craft · shower · straw · swing

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. swing — music
  3. shower — to wash
  4. swing — in golf
  5. craft — a skill
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. swing — to play on
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — for sport
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of law
  19. pop — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — rain

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