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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: swing · court · toast · stand · trunk · drill · spring · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spring — a coil
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. swing — music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — army training
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. spring — of water
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — of law
  24. stand — for spectators

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