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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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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 · face · roll · trunk · capital · row · court · land

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. row — to paddle
  3. court — of law
  4. face — to point toward
  5. swing — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. capital — money
  9. land — to come down
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. face — part of the head
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. land — ground
  15. row — a line
  16. swing — to play on
  17. land — a country
  18. roll — a list
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. face — to confront
  23. swing — in golf
  24. roll — a cake

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