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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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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: fall · suit · cap · race · court · swing · bat · spring

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. suit — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — humankind
  10. spring — a coil
  11. court — of law
  12. suit — to fit
  13. court — of a king
  14. cap — a lid
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a hat
  19. race — a contest
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — for sport
  24. suit — clothes

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