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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: court · swing · plane · face · squash · march · land · bore

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. land — a country
  4. squash — to crush
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — a tool
  7. face — to point toward
  8. land — to come down
  9. march — the month
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. land — ground
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. swing — to play on
  14. march — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. swing — in golf
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to confront
  21. bore — to drill
  22. swing — music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. court — for sport

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