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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 120 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: court · snap · pitcher · mate · field · trunk · ruler · swing

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — farmland
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mate — a partner
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. snap — to click
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. field — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mate — to breed

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