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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: kick · court · band · craft · lie · ball · cold · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — of a king
  4. craft — a skill
  5. ball — a dance
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. swing — to play on
  13. band — a music group
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. craft — boats
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — not warm
  24. swing — in golf

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