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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: court · wake · swing · calf · game · pop · band · pitch

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pop — music
  3. band — a ring
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. band — a music group
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. swing — to play on
  9. court — for sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — a trail
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pop — soda
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. swing — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wake — before a funeral

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