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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: wave · content · lean · court · fan · straw · swing · drill

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. drill — army training
  9. court — of law
  10. content — the amount
  11. swing — music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — to play on
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lean — thin
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. lean — to bend

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