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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: swing · kid · deal · mate · bowl · row · court · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pop — music
  5. court — of law
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mate — to breed
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pop — soda
  16. swing — in golf
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. kid — child
  21. row — a line
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. kid — to tease

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