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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · ball · chest · clip · court · bat · swing · pop

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. clip — a video
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. ball — a great time
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. court — of a king

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