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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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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: mark · nail · hand · swing · dip · land · prune · court

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. land — a country
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. swing — music
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. court — of law
  11. dip — to sink
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mark — a grade
  19. land — to come down
  20. mark — a trace
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. hand — part of the body

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