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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: court · trunk · degree · content · swing · bass · hand · chair

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. court — of law
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bass — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. content — the amount
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. court — for sport
  16. swing — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chair — a leader
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — help
  24. court — of a king

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