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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: court · pass · spring · fan · foot · clip · swing · content

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. swing — in golf
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. court — for sport
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — the amount
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. court — of law
  16. spring — the season
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — of a king
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spring — of water

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