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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · ball · court · land · pitcher · wave · perch · firm

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. ball — a dance
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. perch — the fish
  10. firm — a company
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. firm — decided
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — of a king
  18. firm — steady
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. ball — a great time
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ball — a round shape

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