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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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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: club · court · mug · swing · bass · spring · leaves · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. club — for dancing
  9. spring — the season
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. court — for sport
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mug — to rob
  17. court — of law
  18. club — for golf
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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