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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 116 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: ball · swing · court · nail · fan · march · club · content

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. club — a group
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. ball — a great time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. court — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ball — a dance
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. court — of law
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. club — for golf
  24. march — music

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