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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: march · board · swing · court · mine · face · club · spell

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. court — of law
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. club — a group
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. march — the month
  9. club — for golf
  10. board — to get on
  11. march — the month
  12. face — part of the head
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. board — a committee
  18. spell — letters
  19. court — for sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. board — a flat piece

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