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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: lie · court · ground · game · swing · bass · nail · present

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. court — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lie — to recline
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. present — the time now
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. court — of a king
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. present — a gift
  16. ground — a position
  17. present — there
  18. swing — to play on
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — crushed
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — the earth

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