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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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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 · game · pound · mark · squash · roll · swing · pop

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. court — for sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. squash — to crush
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mark — a grade
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pop — music
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. swing — music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pop — soda
  19. mark — a trace
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. squash — the 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