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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: swing · prune · wake · racket · current · wind · court · field

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of a king
  3. field — a subject
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — music
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — of water
  13. field — for sport
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. swing — to play on
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — a trail
  21. prune — to trim
  22. court — of law
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. prune — to trim

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