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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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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: chest · prune · kick · mate · swing · court · firm · perch

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. swing — in golf
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of a king
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. perch — the fish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. firm — decided
  14. chest — a box
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kick — in football
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — for sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. firm — a company
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. court — of law
  24. firm — steady

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