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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: scale · fan · wind · bore · swing · ground · fall · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — a position
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fall — the season
  9. bore — to drill
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. scale — in music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. court — of a king
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fall — to drop

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