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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: squash · game · swing · fall · court · net · key · band

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. band — a ring
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. court — of a king
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. key — the most important part
  9. swing — music
  10. game — a match
  11. net — in sport
  12. swing — in golf
  13. band — a music group
  14. key — for a lock
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — for catching
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. key — in music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — of law

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