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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: court · content · land · swing · dip · racket · charge · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. swing — to play on
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — to tease
  5. swing — in golf
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — a country
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. dip — to sink
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — of law
  13. charge — a price
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. charge — in control
  16. court — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. kid — child
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. swing — music
  24. land — ground

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