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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 · board · wound · cell · ball · fine · kid · pit

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fine — all right
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kid — child
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. swing — music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fine — high quality
  19. board — a committee
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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