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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: pit · court · chair · drill · rest · wound · lean · swing

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — music
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — army training
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. court — for sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chair — a leader
  16. court — of a king
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pit — a hole
  20. rest — a break
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wound — an injury
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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