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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: shower · swing · racket · key · court · mug · file · stem

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mug — a cup
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — for sport
  7. mug — to rob
  8. swing — to play on
  9. key — in music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. court — of a king
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a line of people
  15. swing — music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. file — a tool
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. shower — rain
  20. file — a document
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. mug — a face
  24. stem — of a plant

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