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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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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: pit · court · cold · suit · stem · ball · swing · bulb

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ball — a dance
  5. suit — in cards
  6. ball — a great time
  7. suit — clothes
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. suit — to fit
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bulb — for light
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  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