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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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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: court · season · drill · cue · bark · hand · pitcher · swing

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. court — for sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cue — for pool
  9. swing — music
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. drill — army training
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. season — of the year
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — to shout
  21. court — of a king
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cue — a signal

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