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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: racket · wound · present · court · swing · race · game · chair

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. swing — in golf
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — of a king
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. swing — to play on
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. game — a match
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. swing — music
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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