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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
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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: stem · swing · racket · march · clip · net · ground · court

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. net — after costs
  3. clip — to cut
  4. march — the month
  5. court — for sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — for catching
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. court — of law
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. march — music
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. swing — music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — crushed
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. clip — a video

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