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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: ball · nail · court · board · sharp · swing · date · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a dance
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ball — a great time
  7. swing — to play on
  8. sharp — clever
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. board — a committee
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. board — to get on
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. court — for sport
  18. date — the fruit
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. court — of law
  21. swing — music
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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